Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Natera from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Natera from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Natera from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Natera from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Natera from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.12.

Natera Stock Down 1.4 %

NTRA opened at $142.51 on Tuesday. Natera has a 12 month low of $83.13 and a 12 month high of $183.00. The company has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of -80.97 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.45 and a 200 day moving average of $148.25.

Natera (NASDAQ:NTRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The medical research company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.01. Natera had a negative return on equity of 26.23% and a negative net margin of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $476.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natera will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natera news, insider Solomon Moshkevich sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.29, for a total transaction of $859,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 143,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,600,516.72. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Fesko sold 669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.60, for a total value of $106,772.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,217,063.20. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 294,946 shares of company stock valued at $47,212,702 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natera

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRA. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natera during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Natera by 104.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Natera by 345.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 214 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Natera by 372.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natera by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 344 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 99.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Natera

Natera, Inc, a diagnostics company, develops and commercializes molecular testing services worldwide. Its products include Panorama, a non-invasive prenatal test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities of a fetus, as well as in twin pregnancies; Horizon carrier screening test for individuals and couples determine if they are carriers of genetic variations that cause certain genetic conditions; Vistara single-gene NIPT screens for 25 single-gene disorders that cause severe skeletal, cardiac, and neurological conditions; Spectrum, preimplantation genetic tests for couples undergoing IVF; Anora that analyzes miscarriage tissue from women; Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test; and non-invasive prenatal paternity product, which allows a couple to establish paternity without waiting for the child to be born.